This invention relates to a toilet hinge for hingedly mounting a seat and/or cover on a toilet bowl.
Toilets are usually provided with a seat and cover which are mounted by means of hinges to the toilet bowl. Typically, the seat underlies the cover. When the toilet is not in use, both cover and seat are typically positioned to close the top of the bowl. From the closed position, the cover may be swung open to make the seat available for use; if desired, the seat itself can also be swung open.
A typical hinge mounting comprises a pair of hinges laterally spaced apart adjacent the rear of the toilet bowl. One part of each hinge mounts to the bowl and is connected by means of a hinge pin with aligned apertured bosses in the seat and cover. Often, a pair of feet, or pads, on laterally opposite sides of the seat bottom provide points of contact at which the front of the seat bears against the front of the bowl when the seat is down.
If the seat does not bear against the bowl at other than the front set of feet when it is down, a downward load applied to the seat is reacted, by not only the front set of feet, but by the hinges as well. In order to avoid imposing a load on the hinges due to such a downward load applied to the seat, measures must be taken to insure that the seat has a further point of support, such as by a rear set of feet. In order to assure support by both front and rear sets of feet, more precise manufacturing and assembly procedures can be used, but they add to the cost of manufacturing the toilet. Alternatively, it is possible to increase the size and strength of the hinges, but this likewise increases the manufacturing cost.
When the hinges are subjected to reacting seat loads, a potential problem is that the hinges and the seat and/or cover may experience undesirable increases in stress levels. Moreover, depending upon the toilet construction, it is possible that stresses of an undesirable nature could be created in the bowl as well. A potential for increased stress levels applies to both cover and seat, depending upon particular design. In certain designs, the cover may rest upon the seat and not directly bear against the bowl, yet in others it may bear upon the bowl.
The present invention is directed to a novel and unique hinge construction for a toilet which is effective to allow the desired pivotal motion of the seat and/or cover with respect to the bowl, yet which is effective to compensate variations in fit of the seat and/or cover when subjected to load but without undersirable stress levels. In this way, variations in the fit of a seat and/or cover on a bowl in a mass-produced toilet will not, when the toilet is put to use, give rise to the creation of undesired stresses in the cover, seat, hinge and/or bowl which might otherwise occur to one or more of these parts. In other words, it essentially eliminates any need to adjust the seat and cover on the toilet bowl. Moreover, the invention is accomplished without the need to greatly increase the strength of the hinge, thereby conserving on the use of materials.
Briefly, if a seat and/or cover are in the down, or closed, position on the bowl, and a portion of a downward load is reacted by the hinges, the hinges are effective to allow relative motion between the seat and/or cover and the bowl occasioned by the downward load, and thereby permit the seat and/or cover to assume the full support on the bowl without undesired stress conditions in the hinges, or other parts as well. Moreover, the invention is accomplished in the preferred embodiment by the particular design of one of the hinge parts itself so that the use of separate additional parts is eliminated. The invention provides a cost-effective improvement for mass-produced toilets.
Also, depending upon the particular design of toilet, it may be important to control the rear edge of the cover in relation to a ledge on the top rear of the toilet bowl, as will be seen in the disclosed embodiment. An ancillary benefit of the invention is that this control between the rear edge of the cover and the ledge at the top rear of the bowl is also assured.
The foregoing features, advantages, and benefits of the invention, along with additional ones, will be seen in the ensuing description and claims, which should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings disclose a preferred embodiment of the invention according to the best mode contemplated at the present time in carrying out the invention.